"To us, volunteering is a two-way thing. It’s not just about the hands-on help and skills that volunteers bring; it’s also about what this amazing continent, its people and its wildlife can give those volunteers in return." Greg Bows, MD

"To volunteer is to learn, to enjoy, to experience. To be excited, exhilarated and to explore a sense of awe and wonder. If it does all this for you, just imagine what you can do for others." ~ Sophie, UK

Responsible Volunteering

What is Responsible Travel?

Responsible travel is about travellers making informed and responsible choices, and planning trips which have a positive impact on the country they're visiting, and its wildlife, environment and people. This usually means getting closer to local cultures, learning about the people and the history of places, and embracing diversity. It's something that is part of our DNA at African Impact, it's something we've built our lives and our reputation around, and it's something that we like to think we're pretty good at. More than that, it's something that our team members, projects volunteers and the international responsible travel industry think we're pretty good at. We love sharing Africa with our intrepid travellers, seeing the difference that you can make here, and seeing the changes that Africa makes in our volunteers. It's a very special symbiotic relationship and one that we work constantly to improve and refine.

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Responsible Volunteering

Volunteering abroad, if managed correctly, fits into this category and is a growing industry in itself, but don't be too quick to believe everything you read. There are some organisations who would seek to exploit peoples' desire to give back, and that's where you (as the traveller) come in. It's critical that you do your homework when choosing a volunteer organisation to travel with.

Find out whether they have a responsible volunteering policy, or proof of other policies that govern their operations. Make sure they have a proven ethos and philosophy around sustainable and responsible tourism practices. This applies both to their work with local communities and wildlife; and to the facilitation of you, the volunteer. Read reviews - there's no proof like feedback from real people just like you! Any organisation worth its salt should have no problem providing you with enough information that you feel comfortable you are making the right choice.

What makes African Impact responsible? In a nutshell:

We develop our projects alongside community stakeholders, making sure we are meeting the needs of the host community

We run and manage our own projects and have teams made up of trained and experienced people managing things on the ground

Our projects have long term goals in line with the communities we work in, and embrace sustainable best practice

We employ local staff as coordinators and project support

We offer 24 hour on the ground support to volunteers

All volunteers undergo a comprehensive induction program upon arrival to prepare them for project work, introduce them to the local landscape and culture and brief them on safety

Through careful sustainability planning at our volunteer project locations we seek to increase the positive impact of our volunteers and operational practices on the social, cultural and physical environment within which our projects are based.

Our Charities

The project fee paid by volunteers to join us on our projects is used to fund the on-going development of our programs and allows us to assist with further funding and donations to our projects through The Happy Africa Foundation and ALERT, our UK and African registered charities.

Ensuring that our projects are making a viable impact in local communities and contribute sustainably to conservation is our priority. We believe that volunteering is very much a two-way thing which brings value to both the local people and wildlife and the volunteers themselves, who benefit from an authentic cultural exchange and knowledge transfer about a new country, its environment and threats facing its animals.

Our business activities are 100% integrated with local communities – we won’t run a project unless the community not only wants us there, but actually has ownership of the project.

Community Involvement

It’s also imperative to us that every single one of our projects has community stakeholders. We won’t run a project unless the community not only wants us there, but actually has ownership of the project. Community buy-in is essential and we work hand in hand with local tribal chiefs, community leaders, government departments, clinics and schools to ensure that the best possible impact is being made.

Child Protection Policy & Criminal Record Checks

Child Protection Policy & Criminal Record Checks

As part of our commitment to operating responsibly all our volunteers abide by our strictly controlled Child Protection Policy and submit criminal record checks before arrival.

We also put measurable aims and achievements evaluation processes in place for everything we do. Each month Business Managers from our projects submit reports to our Operations team, who then analyse the success and impact of the project and any improvements to be made.